Down for the Count
by HookedOnAvatar011
Summary: Shinobu is a boxer with a lifetime of problems. Her sister wants her dead and Kyoya is blackmailing her with a secret that could destroy her future as Family Head. But maybe, falling in love could be just the thing she needs. MoriXOC KyoyaXmaleOC R
1. Enter Shichan!

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Down for the Count

Chapter One: Enter Shi-chan!!!

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"Is that a girl?"

"I don't know. It's hard to tell, what with the boy's uniform and all."

"He's a boy. He must be. He has a sister I believe. She looks just like him. She's in my gym class. She beat up one of the boys in the Host Club! Hit him right in the face!"

"Oh dear! Was he alright?"

"Hmph. Just what I'd expect from the likes of an Iwagami."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh! I've heard of them! They're a rich family, known for being excellent fighters. Even the girls."

I rolled my eyes. The girls at this school had really mastered the useless art of loud-whispering. What's worse, they couldn't tell that I was girl even though I was in their gym class. With a sigh, I walked away from the vending machine with my bottle of water and headed down the hallway.

"Shi-chan!" A voice down the hall called.

I paused and looked back, shocked by who I found.

"Haruhi? Is that you?" I asked.

She nodded and hugged me tight. "Ah! Shi-chan! I was so worried that I'd never see you again after you left public schools!"

"Why are you wearing a boy's uniform?" We asked at the same time. We just stared, dumbfounded at each other for a second, before Haruhi gave me a sheepish smile.

"Well… I'm in debt, you see. The only way for me to pay back that debt was to pretend to be a boy in the school's Host Club. Why are you wearing the boy's uniform?"

I shrugged. "Have you seen those girl's uniforms lately? They're an Iwagami girl's nightmare." I shivered. "Yellow… Bleh!"

She laughed quietly and took my wrist. "Come with me! I want you to meet everyone!" She walked down the hall, pulling me in tow.

"Haruhi? What are you doing at this school, anyway?"

"Ugh, you have no idea how hard I had to study to get in here. I had to get a scholarship, and once I finally get here, I meet the school's Host Club, break an expensive vase, and become their dog. Then, they get the idea that I'd make a good Host Club member because they think I'm a boy, and I get stuck even after they find out I'm a girl. Only the Host Club knows. I'm so busy with them, that I have no time just to go home and relax."

I chuckled. "Sounds like you're having fun."

She smiled. "I actually am. Don't tell them that though. I don't want to inflate they're already bulbous egos too much. Here we are! The third music room." She pushed open the door, and rose petals flew at me. I choked on one. Don't ask me how, because I have no clue.

While I was coughing, trying to dislodge the horrid petal, my eyes met a strange sight. Five boys stood around a boy in a chair, and they were all wearing togas with olive branches in their hair. "Welcome," The chorused. They paused when they saw us. The blonde one's eyes grew and he ran over, scooping Haruhi into his arms.

"Haruhi! Is this boy bothering you?"

Haruhi's eyes narrowed and she squirmed out of his grip. "Stop it! This isn't a boy! This is my childhood friend, Iwagami Shinobu. She doesn't like dresses, so she chose to wear the boys uniform."

He smiled at me and took my hand, bending down on one knee. "I apologize, malady. How horridly rude of me. Any friend of Haruhi's is a friend of mine."

"Aren't you the boy forcing her into this club against her will?"

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Uhhhhhhhh…."

I took my hand from his. "And don't try any of the Host Club crap on me. It doesn't work on anyone but those air headed brats at this school."

He started sulking in a corner.

"Ah! I knew I recognized you!" One of the redheaded twins called. "You're that girl that punched me in gym!" He rubbed a purple spot on his chin and glared at me.

I shrugged. "Don't make such a big deal about it. Punching someone who comes that close to my face is just natural instinct for me."

"I was just trying to reach for the basketball on the shelf behind you!"

I opened my mouth to speak, but Haruhi interrupted. "Guys. Calm down. This is my friend. Sure she can get a little… fight-happy, but she's actually really nice. Shi-chan, this is Suoh Tamaki, Ootori Kyoya, the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, Haninozuka Mitsukuni, but everyone calls him Honey, and last is Morinozuka Takashi."

I smirked at them all. "Nice to meet you. I hope you've all been taking good care of Ha-chan for me!"

Tamaki looked at me oddly. "Ha-chan? Who's Ha-chan?"

Haruhi glared at me. "Don't call me that! If you do, then they'll feel compelled to call me that too. Don't encourage these idiots!"

Honey jumped up and wrapped his arms around my neck, giving me a cute smile. "Ah! It's nice to meet one of Haru-chan's friends! You can call me Honey-chan! Want to hold my bunny?" He shoved the bunny in my hands, not giving me a chance to answer. "Don't dirty him up, Shi-chan!"

The boy in the glasses walked up to me next. "Hello, miss. I am Ootori Kyoya, as Haruhi has already told you. I'm the vice-president of this club, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to come find me."

I smiled lightly, happy to have finally met someone nice. "Thank you, Ootori-san. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The tall black haired boy walked up to me next. "Hello, Iwagami-san. I'm Morinozuka Takashi, but you can call me Mori, if you'd like."

I nodded. "Nice to meet you, Mori-san."

He looked over at Honey-chan, and suddenly his eyes widened. "Mitsukuni! Don't eat that!" And then he took off running. Then the twins came up. They were probably still a little peeved that I'd punched the slightly taller one at gym.

The one that I'd punched held out his hand grudgingly for me to take. "Hello. My name is Hikaru."

"I'm Kaoru."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Liars," She muttered.

"Haruhi! Can't you let us have a little bit of fun?" They whined simultaneously. It turns out that I had punched Kaoru, not Hikaru. Strange boys.

Lastly, was Tamaki. He narrowed his eyes and stuck up his nose so that he could look at me through his ridiculously long eyelashes. "I'm Suoh Tamaki. King of the Host Club."

I stuck out my hand for him to take. "I'm Iwagami Shinobu, heir to the Iwagami empire."

He suddenly choked on his own spit. "H-heir? You're the… The… Heir?"

"Yeah…" I said raising an eyebrow.

"Um… I'm sorry for my rudeness." He muttered before walking away.

"Mori-kun!" I heard Honey whisper from a few feet away. "Why did Tamaki apologize to her? The only person he ever really apologized to was Haruhi." Mori leaned down to him and whispered in his ear. His eyes got wide. "What do you mean she's got three times as much money as he does? I thought the Iwagami were just a family of kendo masters."

I leaned down beside him as well. "Not just kendo," I told him. He jumped and blushed as if embarrassed that I'd heard him. "We have all different kinds of fighters in our family and we own 97% of all the dojos in Japan and we have a lot of gyms in America."

His eye widened. "Really?" He asked cutely. "Do you fight too? What kind of fighting do you do?"

I beamed. "I'm a boxer. Number one in the coed internationals."

"What does that mean?"

Mori chose to answer this one. "It means that not only did she beat up all the girl boxers our age in the world, but also all the boy ones."

I grinned and nodded. "That's exactly right, Mori-san! Thank you."

"Shi-chan!" Haruhi called from across the room. "Come here!"

I turned and smiled at Honey and Mori, then headed over to Haruhi. "What is it?"

"We were wondering if you'd like to join the Host Club."

"I am not pretending to be a boy!"

"No need," Tamaki answered. "It's not the kind of position. We need a new manager. Our old one left for France a week ago. How about it?"

"Ummm… I guess. I don't know if I'll be able to fit it all in with my practice but I can try."

He shrugged. "No matter. You don't need to show up a lot. Only at our big events. I make most of the smaller decisions for the club."

"Then, sure. I'll be your manager."

Haruhi smiled. "Great! Now I won't be the only girl that's forced to hang around these guys!"

I was quiet for a second, before I thought of something. "Hey, Haruhi?"

"Yeah?"

"If you're a girl pretending to be a boy… which bathroom do you use?"

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"No," I told Tamaki bluntly.

He pouted comically. "But… But… But our old manager did it! It was her thing! It'll be weird to have a manager that doesn't do it."

"No. Not matter how much you plead, I will not do cosplay or come out of the floor on a stupid platform. Why does this place have one of those anyway? This is music room."

Haruhi sighed. "You'll get used to it. Nothing in this room is anything that would be in a normal music room. There is a piano, but that's it."

Honey-chan latched onto my leg and climbed up to my shoulders. "Hello Shi-chan!" He said excitedly. "Would you like to eat cakes with me and Takashi?"

I smiled at him. "I'd love to, but don't the two of you have costumers?" He looked over his shoulder and saw three girls sitting at his table, each with a plate of cake just for him. His eyes widened and he started to drool.

He jumped off my shoulder and made a break for the girls with cake. "Maybe later then Shi-chan!"

I couldn't help but laugh. He was so adorable. "Don't mind it," Mori-san said coming up beside me. "No one comes before cake in his mind." He sighed and the corner of his mouth twitch up in what seemed to be an almost kind of half smile. "Not even his own brother."

"I don't mind," I told him looking back at Honey-chan. "The two of you are close aren't you?"

He nodded. "My family has been with his family for generations, but a marriage between our families has made us cousins. We have been together since we were very young. He may not look like it, but he's older than me by a few months. His family is really big on martial arts so-." He looked over at me and paused, probably freaked out by the look on my face. If I had to guess, I was probably gaping like a fish.

"Waaaaaahhhhh?" I asked. "He's older than you? He's smaller and cuter than my six year old sister!" I suddenly froze. "Don't tell her I said that. She doesn't need any more reasons to kill me."

He raised an eyebrow. "Your six year old sister wants to kill you?"

"Don't ask. Anyway, don't you have costumers too, Mori-san?"

"No," He said shaking his head. "I have not been requested yet today."

I looked over his shoulder curiously. "You sure? There's a sad looking girl over at your table."

He followed my eyes and sighed. "She's back." He left it at that and walked back to his table. He sat down and the two just looked at each other for a moment, before the girl started babbling incoherently from shyness. Mori looked at her patiently and listened to what she had to say, even though I bet he didn't understand a word of it.

I shrugged and walked back over to my seat by the window. I picked up my book, got comfortable and continued reading. Just when I was getting to the good part, a couple giggling girls walked over to me.

"E-Excuse me," One said quietly.

I looked up at her. "Yes?"

"Um… Are you a new Host?"

I shook my head. "I-." I was interrupted when Kyoya slapped his hand over my mouth.

"Yes, he is. This is Iwagami Shinobu, the newest Host member. Sorry, princesses, but he will not be available until tomorrow."

The girls sighed sadly and walked away dejectedly. I licked Kyoya's hand and he instantly snatched it away. "What the hell, Kyoya? I already told you guys, I'm not going to pretend to be a boy!"

He pushed his glasses farther up on his nose. "I'm afraid you'll have to. Most of the girls have requested you already, and more or doing so every minute. I think having you a Host will bring great profit to this club."

"And if a refuse?"

"Well, let's just say… I know things. Things that you would rather not have exposed to the public."

I scoffed. "Like what? I have nothing to hide."

"Oh really? So you wouldn't mind if I told the world about your… problem with children? Do you think that your grandmother would let you remain heir after they find out?"

I grit my teeth to keep from pounding on him. "How do you know about that?"

"My brother is your doctor."

"He swore that he'd keep that in confidence!"

"He did, but I hacked his computer. I figured that I'd need some blackmail on you soon. So, how about it? Will you be a Host?"

I sighed in defeat. "Fine."

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" Kyoya called. They appeared by his side instantly.

"Yes?" They asked.

"Shinobu is now a Host. Fix her up, will you?"

They smirked and nodded. "Right away."

They grabbed onto my wrists and pulled my into the back room, shoved me in a chair and strapped me down, then preceded to mess with my hair.

Kaoru pulled my long black hair back into a ponytail the laid down the back of my neck with some strands of hair falling over my shoulder. Hikaru grabbed my left ear forcefully, and before I could do anything, he pierced it with a diamond stud.

"Hey!" I screamed, trying to squirm out of the seat.

They both stood in front of me, their hands on their chins thoughtfully and they looked at me with a critical eye. "It's missing something," They said together. "Glasses!" They exclaimed.

"I'm wearing contacts already."

"These square frame glasses suit you better." Kaoru said. They forced me to take my contacts out and set the glasses over my silver eyes. Hikaru snapped out his phone and took a picture of me, sent it to someone, and was instantly met by a loud beep, stating that whoever it was had replied.

He looked from the phone, to me, back to the phone, then back to me and nodded. "She hasn't lost her touch."

"What does she say that Shinobu should be?"

He paused for dramatic effect, then suddenly pointed at me, obviously imitating this old manager of theirs. "Shi-chan will be…. The Sophisticated type! Kyakyakyakyakyakya!" He started cackling and sank to his knees like he was going under ground.

Kaoru thought this was hilarious, but I was lost. "I'm a what?"

"A Sophisticated type! You know, usually stoic and speaks really fancy-like and sometimes breaks out into random Haikus." They said at the same time.

I deadpanned. "And exactly how many sophisticated people do you know?"

"Are you done in there yet? I want to see my new daughter!" I heard Tamaki's obnoxious voice called from outside.

They unhooked the restrains and pushed me outside. "Ta da! We present… Iwagami Shinobu, the Sophisticated type!"

Tamaki started crying like a proud mother (or father as he says). "Wonderful! The long ponytail and single pierced ear! It's perfect! Starting tomorrow, Iwagami is the newest member of the Host Club!"

"I can barely contain my joy…" Not.

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"Oh, Iwagami-kun!" The girl beside me swooned.

I smiled and held her chin to pull her closer to me.

"Your radiance is,

Like a sunny day in spring,

Lovely and so bright."

'_Ugh, that was horrible! What girl would fall for a bad Haiku like that?_' I thought to myself.

"KYYYAAA!" They all fawned and nearly fainted. "So beautiful!" I nearly sweat dropped. Were these girls for real? It was girls like these that made it hard for me to get any respect in the rich society.

"Iwagami-san," A shy brunette said as she snuggled up against me. "Why did you join the Host Club?"

'_Because Kyoya is a manipulative bastard._' I smiled at her. "Because otherwise I never would have met maidens fair as yourself."

She blushed and turned away to hide it. As much as I hated doing this, it was actually kind of fun. "Oh, Iwagami-san!" She mumbled shyly.

"Oh, Iwagami-san!" I heard Kaoru and Hikaru mock behind the chair.

I glared at them. "What do you two want? Can't you tell that I'm entertaining these lovely princesses?"

They chuckled and came around to stand in front of me. "It's time to play… the which one is Hikaru-kun game! Every new member has to play. Haruhi is the only one to win. Let's see if you can win as well!" They slapped on some hats and started spinning around the room so that I'd lose track of who was standing where. They stopped in front of me again and held out their arms. "Who is Hikaru-kun!"

I pointed to the one on the left. "Hikaru." Then I pointed to the one on the right. "Kaoru."

"Wrong!"

I smirked. "If you say so."

They looked at me curiously and leaned in closely. "How did you know?"

I just ignored them and leaned back against the couch. "Would any of you ladies like some tea?" They all nodded vigorously so I stood and walked over to Haruhi, who was carrying the tray.

The twins followed close behind me. "Seriously, Shinobu, how did you know?" They asked.

I shrugged. "I find it blatantly obvious who is who."

"Is it the same way as Haruhi? Can you tell by looking into our eyes?"

I shook my head. "No. If you don't know how I know, then maybe you should think about it a little bit. It'll come to you. Eventually."

They stopped following me at that point and walked back to their table. I smirked as I carried the tray of tea over to my costumers. I found it amusing that they really didn't recognize me. The first girl to ever tell them apart back in middle school.

I smiled seductively as I sat with the girls and handed them their tea. "Thank you so much, Iwagami-kun!"

"You're welcome, my princesses," I said, while at the same time I thought, '_What annoying spoiled brats._' I wonder how long Kyoya will blackmail me into doing this?


	2. Weird Exotic Places

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Down for the Count

Chapter Two: Weird Exotic Places!!!

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"Since when does the rainforest have glass roof?" I asked as I looked up from the chair I'd been thrown in after Kaoru yanked off the bag he and his brother had put over my head when they kidnapped me.

They pouted. "Oh come on! At least give us some kind of reaction!"

I ignored them again and looked around the place and saw what did resemble a tropical rainforest, except for earlier mentioned glass roof.

Kyoya walked over and pushed his glasses up his nose. "This is my family's newest amusement park. It's a club tradition to come here every time the park is closed for a day."

Haruhi looked absolutely miserable in her pink, ruffle bikini. "Much to my dismay," She muttered while Tamaki was out of hearing range.

The twins got a devilish look in their eyes. "Time to pick out a bathing suit for Shi-chan!" They said laughing manically. They grabbed me under my arms and pulled me towards the girl's changing room, threw me in, and left me at the mercy of their insane twin maids.

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"Wow, Shinobu!" Tamaki exclaimed when I walked out. "You look-."

"Finish the sentence and you're dead," I sneered as I tried to cover up as much skin with my arms as I could. The bathing suit the maids had chosen for me was a dark blue bikini. It came up around my neck, but had a heart shaped hole in the front the showed part of my (almost non-existent) cleavage. The bottoms were a bit more reasonable. They were like short shorts, but there were slits going up the sides. "I feel like a tramp."

"I think Shi-chan looks pretty!" Honey-chan exclaimed looping his arms around my neck. "Don't you think so, Takashi?"

I smiled at Honey-chan and looked over at Mori-san, surprised to se him blushing and trying to hide it with his hands.

"Ah," He muttered. "A little… revealing, though. Why'd your maids pick that one?"

"We asked them to. We wanted to see if we could everyone flustered," The twins chorused. "You can go pick out another one if you want Shinobu."

I was gone before they finished speaking.

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Now that I got to pick out my own, I picked out a black, backless one piece with a red heart on the ass. It was the most decent suit that they gave me to choose from.

I sighed as I walked out of the room. Everyone had already disbanded and were all doing their own thing. The twins were terrorizing Haruhi, Tamaki was yelling at them like an idiot, Kyoya was sitting down and writing in his little notebook, and Mori was swimming upstream in the little river with Honey-chan on his back. Honey-chan was cheering, but from the look on Mori-san's face, he did this for the little guy very often.

They all looked up when I walked over to the pool, but went right back to what they were doing. All but the twins who came over to me, pouting. "Shi-chan! Couldn't you have at least picked a bikini! That suit is very unflatering."

I rolled my eyes as I sat down and dipped my feet in the water. "It's not like I have anything to flatter."

They sighed and stalked away.

Mori-san swam up in front of me and Honey-chan jumped off his back. He plopped down beside me and kicked the water with his feet. "Hello, Shi-chan! You look pretty in that bathing suit. I like this better than the last one. Don't you Takashi?"

Mori-san stayed in the water and set his chin on his folded arms, looking up at Honey-chan and me from under his long eyelashes. "Ah," He said emotionlessly.

Honey-chan beamed and hugged his bunny close. "Usa-chan thinks so too!" I could practically see the pink flowers floating around his head. "Usa-chan, Takashi, and I want to see Shi-chin box! Can we come watch you practice sometime?"

I smiled at him and nodded. "I'd like that. I'd also like to see some of the famous Haninozuka moves."

He beamed even brighter. "Of course! You can come to my family's dojo sometime! You can see Takashi fight too. Takashi is really, really, good at kendo."

I nodded and looked over at Mori-san. "I know. He beat my cousin in the national kendo competition."

He looked a bit surprised. "I did?"

"Umankiki Osiyo?"

He nodded. "I remember him. He was quite a worthy opponent. I had to go full force just to beat him."

"If I told him that I knew you, he'd demand I take him to see you. He's determined to beat you some day."

He nodded again. God, I knew he was a man of few words, but come on! What's with all the nodding? "I'd be honored to fight him again."

I shrugged. "He's not ready yet. I'll tell him about you once I think he's good enough to beat you. Judging by how you fought at the competition, he still has some work to do.'

"You were there?"

"Yes. It's actually kind of funny. I've met all of the people in the Host club at least once outside of the club, but none of them seem to remember me."

"Oooh! Ooooh! Where'd you meet me, Shi-chan?" Honey-chan asked excitedly.

"At the Haninozuka annual banquet three years ago. I was the girl that you landed on when you fell off the chandelier."

His eyes got wide. "Ahhh! I'm so sorry, Shi-chan!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't worry about it. I didn't mind."

"How do you know Tama-chan? Kao and Hika-chan? Kyo-chan? Haru-chan?"

"Well, Haruhi, I've known since her mother died. Her mother was my family's lawyer. When she died everyone was devastated. I thought that I'd talk to the daughter and comfort her a little, as only someone who has also lost their mother can. We've been friends ever since. The others… I'd rather not say. They're a little… personal."

Honey-chan nodded and cuddled up into my side. "I didn't know that Shi-chan has lost her mother also. You don't have to tell us, if you don't want to right now. I'm sleepy anyway."

He was fast asleep almost instantly. Mori-san gave Honey-chan's sleeping form one of his almost kind of half smiles. He pulled himself out of the water and sat beside us. "I can take him if you want me to. I already have a couch set up for his Sunday nap."

I nodded and scooped him up in my arms then stood up with Mori-san. I set him gently in Mori-san's arms, but the small senior had a tight grip on the strap of my bathing suit. Mori-san didn't seem to notice, and before I could stop him, he took a big step away, pulling the top of my bathing suit away from my body. I yelped and quickly stepped closer so that I could try to untangle Honey-chan's fingers from the glossy material. I finally succeeded and looked up at Mori-san's face. He was blushing madly and looking away.

"Ah…. Ah… Sorry."

"It's okay. You didn't see anything did you?"

He shook his head vigorously. "I looked away soon enough. I'll just… go put Mitsukuni to bed." He sped away quickly.

I covered my mouth to hide my quiet laughter. Mori-san sure seemed stoic, but he was as almost as innocent as Honey-chan. The only difference was that Mori-san understood what he was being innocent about.

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_**The Next Day….**_

I sighed before opening the door to the clubroom. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, but made sure to snap my mouth shut when the petals came so that I didn't choke again.

"Welcome," The Hosts said at the same time.

"Oh! It's Shi-chan! Shi-chan is very late! Isn't she Takashi?"

"Ah."

Tamaki scooped me up into a hug. "Oh, my new daughter! Why are you so late? Daddy was worried about you!"

I pushed him off and walked slowly over to my table. "Well, because of you idiots, everyone thought that Iwagami Shinobu was a girl because of my gym class. Now that I'm pretending to be a boy, I had to get rid of my so-called 'sister'. So, I spent all night convincing the school that my sister was dropping out of Ouran and moving to America. I also had to change all my classes where the teachers knew that I was a girl, which was six out of seven of them. The only sleep I had was the twenty minutes in history. That's why I was late. No one bothered to wake me up!" I turned to glare at Tamaki and Kyoya who were in my history class.

Tamaki jumped and hid behind Kyoya. "Mommy! Our daughter is being mean to her daddy!"

Haruhi sighed and rolled her eyes. "So, anyway, what's today's theme?"

"Ah!" Tamaki instantly perked up. "African Safari!"

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"You try to force that giraffe head on me, and it's going up your ass," I hissed as Tamaki pulled out the head. I'd been fine with the outfit, the spots and the hooves and the tail, but there was no way I was wearing that head.

"Ahhh! Shi-chan said a bad word!" Honey-chan exclaimed as he came up beside me.

Honey-chan was dressed up like an elephant (which I found ironic because he looked more like a mouse then anything) and when Mori came up behind him, I saw that he was dressed like a cheetah. He had spots and cat ears and everything.

I couldn't help but giggle. "Aww! It's Neko-Mori! So cute!" I teased. He blushed and tried to hide it by looking away and covering his cheek with his paw.

"Shi-chan looks cute too! Don't you think so Takashi?"

"Ah."

"What aren't you wearing the head?"

I smirked. "Because it'd likely cause me to lose my balance. That head is almost as big as Tamaki's ego, but he probably has experience lugging that big head of his around, so he's not quite as clumsy."

Speak of the devil, and he shall yell really, really loudly. "THE HOST CLUB IS NOW OPEN!" Tamaki exclaimed, right in my ear.

Girls came rushing in. I had more costumers than last time, which was good. Maybe if I made a lot of money, the Glasses-Wearing-Devil would get off my back.

The girls looked at me curiously. "What exactly are you supposed to be?" One girl asked.

"A giraffe," I said, trying to sound upset. "Tono, over there, wanted me to wear this gigantic giraffe head but," I paused to flip some hair over my shoulder. "Why deny my beautiful princesses to have full view of their prince's face?"

They swooned and screamed in excitement. Then, the weirdest thing happened. One of the girls tackled me onto the couch and kissed me, right on the lips. I pulled back and tried to crawl away while the other girls were giving her death glares.

"Hey! Don't kiss my prince!"

"Your prince? He's my prince!"

I chose that time to high tail it. I ran and hid in the back room in one of the dressing rooms. Before I met the Idiot Club, I'd never imagined myself getting mauled by fangirls. Now I can see why all the pretty boys in manga dislike it so much. The door to the backroom opened and closed, but I was safe in my closet. Or so I thought. The closet door opened I involuntarily winced.

"What are you doing?" Mori-san asked as he raised an eyebrow at my cowering form.

"Hiding from those crazy girls. They're scary, and I grew up with a really hot cousin so I know just how far fangirls will go to get the boy they want."

He chuckled quietly and sat down beside me. He didn't say anything for a while, but I could still hear the outraged yells and fighting sounds coming from outside. "I think that we should close the Host Club for a day or two," He said finally. "Or at least, you should take a break. Let all your 'fangirls', as you call them, simmer down."

I smiled at him. "I like that idea. Hey, do you and Honey-chan want to come over to my house for dinner some time? I'd invite everyone else, but my grandmother has a weak heart and I don't want to have them give her a heart attack."

He shrugged. "As long as you have cake I'm sure that Mitsukuni wouldn't mind. And I wouldn't mind coming over either."

I stood up then held my hand out to help him to his feet. "Great! My aunt's out of town for a week and my cook always makes the best meals when she's gone. I think that it's some kind of celebration. I'm sure that I can ask her to make a couple cakes for Honey-chan. How's tonight?"

He nodded. "Ah."

"My house is on Beklar Avenue. It's the big white house with the blue roof, seven acres of horse pasture, a dojo the size of an average middle school, and a tall black gate with a big 'I' on the top," I told him, laughing slightly. "You can't miss it."

He gave me that almost sort of half smile again and left the room. "I'll tell Mitsukuni. I think the girls are gone by now."

I sighed with relief and followed him out of the room. "Thank god! I was about to suffocate in that closet."

*******************************************************

"Are the cakes finished?" I asked Tatsi as I walked in the kitchen.

She looked up and got nervous when she saw me by the oven. "I…Iwagami-Sama! Don't touch the stove. Please. I worked very hard on those cakes."

I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. But they smelt so good! I just wanted to take a little peek."

"You remember last time…"

I sighed. "And the time before that, and the time before that. I know. Every cooking related thing I touch bursts to flames. It's not my fault! The cooking gods are out to get me."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Why don't you go help Kinta set the table?"

I smiled and saluted her. "Hai! I'll get right one that!"

I ran out into the dinning room, ducking when I came through the door way, and reaching up to catch Kinta's foot in midair. "Aw!" He whined. "I really thought that I'd gotten you this time."

"Sorry Kinta, but you still have more training to do if you want to take me by surprise." Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" I ran through the dinning room, down hall, and into the front room, to swing open the door. "Hey, Honey-chan and Mori-san! Wel…. What are you all doing here?"

Tamaki grinned. "We overheard Mori telling Honey about dinner and we thought that we'd come too! We wanted to see what Shi-chan's house was like. Why didn't you invite us?"

"Because I don't want you scaring my grandmother to death. Fine come in. Just to warn you, don't scream near my grandmother, or try any of your Host Club tricks on her, because she'll either die, or kick your ass."

They all filed in (I noticed that Haruhi was not present), Mori-san and Honey-chan were last. Mori-san shrugged apologetically. "Sorry. I tried to stop them."

"It's alright. Tatsi always cooks too much food anyways."

"Dinner… is served!!!" Tatsi's voice called from the dinning room.

Everyone instantly ran over to the table and took a seat. Coincidentally, there were just enough chairs for all of us. Kinta came out with a couple trays of food on each arm. He grinned his eleven-year-old troublemaker grin.

"Shi-Nee. Your two friends have multiplied."

I sighed. "I know. Don't look at me like that. I really thought that only two of them were coming."

Kaoru and Hikaru looked over at me. "We didn't know you had a brother."

"There's a lot about me that you don't know. I've barely told you anything. This is Kinta, my younger half brother. You'll meet Amaya later. She's six."

Tamaki looked around at all the pictures on the walls and seemed to notice something. "Where are you parents?"

Kinta froze. He looked at me and then back at Tamaki before sitting down. "They're dead."

All the boys looked up at me. "Both of them?" Hikaru asked.

"Oteno and Hinata Iwagami," Kyoya said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Oteno died of blood poisoning after a raid on his mother's summer house. The cause of Hinata's death was never released. Only two people know what it was. Her oldest daughter and her trusted doctor."

"Shut up," I hissed. "You're a guest in my house, Kyoya, and I'd appreciate it if you'd show my parents a little respect by not speaking of their deaths so lightly."

He seemed to ignore me and continued eating. Honey-chan started bawling. "SHI-CHAN!!! It's so sad! Are you okay?"

I smiled at him and pat his head. "It's alright, Honey-chan." I sighed and stood up. "I'm suddenly not feeling very hungry. I'll be in the gym next to the dojo if you guys need anything. Feel free to explore, ride the horses, work out in the dojo, or whatever else you want while you're here."

I saw Kinta glaring at Kyoya as I left and couldn't help but smile. God, I loved that kid.

**********************************************************

I panted and grunted as I punched the punching bag (because what else would I do with a _punching_ bag?) when I heard two people come in. Judging by the sound of the magical pink flowers, I was guessing that it was Honey-chan and Mori-san.

I paused in my workout and took a quick swig of my water bottle before turning around to greet them. "Hey, Honey-chan, Mori-san. You guys need anything?"

Honey-chan quickly shook his head. "Everyone else felt really bad, so they left and asked us to apologize for Kyo-chan for them since he refused to do it himself."

I nodded and smiled at him. "Thank you. I'm sorry that I stormed out like that. It was very… drama queen-ish for me. I'm not usually like that."

He beamed, and then looked at me curiously. "Hey, Shi-chan? Have you ever had a boyfriend?"

"Wha-?" I exclaimed. "Wha-what brought that question on?"

"I was just wondering. You're very, very pretty, and really nice, but since you're so strong, some stupid boys are probably intimidated by you, so I was just wondering." How could he sound so innocent and care-free as he said that?

"Uhh… Well, I… No. No, I've never had a boyfriend." I flushed with embarrassment and didn't dare look up at Mori-san.

"Have you ever had a kiss?"

I could feel myself blushing even darker. "N-no," I said very quietly.

He smiled before skipping up to me. "Come down here, Shi-chan. Since you've answered my questions, I want to give you a secret."

"O-okay." I hesitated, but bent down to his height. "What is it?" I whispered.

He smiled and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "I want you to be my first kiss." And then, he kissed me, right on the lips. He squealed in happiness and ran from the dojo, singing: "I kissed Shi-chan! I kissed Shi-chan!"

I covered my mouth and I knew that I was as red as a tomato by now. I looked up at Mori-san, only to see him looking very amused. "You think that was funny?" I asked, trying to sound menacing.

He only smirked and nodded. "Ah. Mitsukuni has taken a strange liking to you. He sees you as a big sister, even though he's two years older than you. Don't think too much about the kiss. If you start acting awkward around him he'll cry until you forgive him."

I sighed and stretched. "At least I'm not like those other girls who always obsess about their first kiss."

"No, you are definitely not like other girls," I heard him mutter.

"What was that?" I asked, since he obviously didn't want me to hear.

He shook his head and turned towards to door. "Nothing. See you at school tomorrow."

"Bye Mori-san!" I called after him. "Tell Honey-chan that I said goodbye."

He paused in the doorway and turned back to me. "You know, me and Mitsukuni were talking, and we thought, that… if you wanted to call us by our real names, Takashi and Mitsukuni, then… we wouldn't mind."

I was shocked for a moment, but then I broke into a smile. "Alright then. See you at school… Takashi."

He gave me his usual almost kind of half smile and left. I could still hear Mitsukuni singing his knew song as he left the grounds.


	3. The School Festival Part One

********************************************************************************

Down for the Count

Chapter Three: The School Festival,

Part One: The Host Café

********************************************************************************

"SHI-CHAN!!!" Tamaki exclaimed as he came into the 3rd music room late for Host Club. "My daughter! Daddy has something to say to you!"

I looked up from the girls that I was entertaining and sighed. "Excuse me ladies. The idiot calls." They giggled as I stood and walked over to him with an annoyed expression. "What?"

"I wanted to tell you about what you were doing for the School Festival!"

"School Festival?"

"Yep! The Host Club will be doing a Host Café! But, we can only rent the room for the first day of the festival. We need to think of something to do for the second day, and I want it to center around you."

I rolled my eyes and sat in that chair nearest to me because I had the feeling this was going to take a while. "Why me?"

"Because, other than yours truly, you're the favorite among the princesses! I will not be able to attend the second day of the festival because of my grandmother's birthday party, so I want you to lead the Host Club to victory!"

"Since when are school festivals a competition?"

He gasped as if I was some naive commoner. "Silly, silly girl. School festivals have always been a competition at Ouran… since last semester…."

I crossed my arm and nodded. "Uh huh. So, what do you want me to do?"

"No clue! But I'll figure something out."

I rolled my eyes and headed back towards the girls at my table.

"What was that about?" One of them asked.

I smiled at her and took her chin in my hand.

"My boss is a fool,

He's so loud and obnoxious,

He gets on my nerves."

They giggled and looked over at Tamaki who was pouting in his emo corner. It seemed that he'd heard my haiku. I just grinned at him and wiggled my fingers.

"Oh Iwagami-san, you're so funny!" One girl swooned as she cuddled up against me. No matter how long I did this Host Club thing, I'd never get used to girls flirting with me.

"What are you doing for the school festival?" One girl piped up.

I rolled my eyes. "A café. It was Tono's idea."

"Will you be wearing maid outfits?"

"No, we'll be dressed as waiters."

A few of the girls moaned in disappointment. "Man!"

These girls actually wanted to see me in a maid suit? Sometimes, they really freaked me out. I made an excuse to take a break and walked over to Mor- I mean Takashi and Mitsukuni. They were sitting on the floor with a couple of girls and Mitsukuni appeared to be mixing something. I came closer and peered over their shoulders.

"Um… Mitsukuni," I said cautiously, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "I think you've spilt too much."

He paused and looked into the bowl with sad eyes. The girls instantly sprang to action. They snatched the bowl from the older boy and smiled.

"It's okay! This is the amount I wanted! Thank you so much, Honey-senpai."

Mitsukuni beamed and jumped up to his feet. He turned around and hugged me. "Hello Shi-chan. Thank you for inviting us to dinner last night! I'm sorry Kyo-chan ruined it."

The girls squealed. "SO CUTE!"

Man, this kid was good.

I smiled and pat his head. "It's alright, Mitsukuni-senpai. It wasn't your fault. I've got a match coming up in a few days. The day right after the festival ends. Would you and Takashi like to come and watch?"

He looked up at Takashi, who nodded, and then grinned at me. "Of course we will! I've been wanting to watch Shi-chan box for a long time!"

I smiled and nodded. He turned back to the girl and I walked up to Takashi. "Hey," I said as I stood beside him and turned to watch Mitsukuni interact with the girls.

"Hello."

"You and Mitsukuni are graduating this year right?" I asked in a desperate attempt to make conversation.

He nodded, but didn't look up from his charge/best friend. "Ah."

"Are you two going to college?"

"Ah. Mitsukuni and I are going to Tokyo University."

"That's not too far. You can still come visit your friends from the Host Club."

He nodded and we were quiet for a moment. "And you?" He asked. "What do you plan to do after you graduate?"

"I'll probably take over as family head and take college courses online," I said shrugging. "There isn't a family head at the moment, so my aunt takes care of everything. She and my sister are in league with each other and are planning my accidental death."

He raised an eyebrow and finally looked over at me. "Why?"

"Well, my aunt loves being in charge. She'll do anything to stay in charge until to day she dies. Amaya wants to be family head and she's next in line, so all she has to do is get rid of me. She's promised my aunt that she could stay head until she was seventy, so now they're working together."

"What about your brother?"

"He's illegitimate. My parents got in a big fight and started talking divorce, so my mom moved to America. My father got another woman pregnant and she had Kinta. The woman died in childbirth. My mother came back to take care of the baby and she and my father forgave each other and got back together. Luckily they had never actually signed the divorce papers, so it wasn't a big deal. Five years later they had Amaya."

"That's pretty complicated."

"Yeah. I love Amaya anyway. Even though she does want to see my ashes on her mantel piece."

"I'd rather see your head on a spear."

Takashi and I turned around and saw a six-year-old brunette with freckles and thick-rimmed glasses. "Amaya," I said in greeting. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see if what Kinta said was true. You really did join the Host Club. Wait till Grandma finds out!" And then she ran out of the room her pigtails flying behind her.

I sighed and leaned against the wall. Takashi looked at us bewildered. "Aren't you going to go after her?"

"No. She won't be able to wake Grandma up by the time I can get home, so I have nothing to worry about."

"Your family is crazy."

I beamed. "Yeah! But I can't help but love 'em."

************************************************************************

I got home right after the Host Club meeting ended, just to see Amaya trying to wake our grandmother. She appeared to be getting angry.

"Grammy! Grammy, wake up! I have something to tell you about Shinobu!"

"It's useless, Amaya. Even if you were to wake her up, do you really think she'd believe your word over mine? She's so senile, she doesn't even believe that you're her granddaughter."

Amaya looked up at me with fire in her eyes. "She does to! She called me by my name this morning! She knows who I am."

I smiled down at her and pat her head. "That's wonderful, Amaya! She still can't get _my_ name right."

Grammy suddenly snorted as she woke and shook her head to get rid of the grogginess. "Ah! Shiniki!" She exclaimed.

I sweat dropped and sighed, but smiled. "Hey, Grammy. Oh, Amaya had something that she wanted to tell you." I pushed Amaya forward slightly but she crossed her arms and pouted.

"Never mind. It's not important."

Grammy looked at Amaya curiously. "Hmm? And who's this? Kinta's little girlfriend?"

Amaya's face suddenly looked disgusted. "WHAT! Of course not! Grammy, I'm Amaya! Your granddaughter."

But she was already back to sleep. Amaya's eyes suddenly started tearing up. She tore her arm from my grip and ran up the stairs, I followed her, but stopped at the bottom and sighed.

"Oh, Amaya. Why can't you just open up to me?"

"It's because you scare her."

I quickly tensed up as if to fight, but relaxed when I recognized Kinta's voice. I looked back at him, puzzled. "What do you mean? Why would she be scared of me? I'm her big sister. She's not supposed to be scared of me."

He shrugged. "Our parents died when she was really young and our grandmother doesn't even recognize her. You left town when she was a baby and only recently returned. I'm only her half sibling, and with you gone our aunt has been filling her head with ideas about you needing to be dead. I've tried to steer her right, but we're only connected by our father and our aunt has taught her not to feel any closeness with me."

I sat down on the bottom stair and sighed as Kinta sat next to me. "I'm sorry Kinta. I just had to get away from here. I didn't mean to put all that weight on you. It's all my fault that Amaya hates me. You know that I wouldn't have left you two if mom hadn't-."

"I know, Shi-Nee. You don't have to talk about it. I forgive you. Now all you have to do is get Amaya to say those words."

I only nodded and stood. "I should get Tatsi to start dinner and go to bed early. Tomorrow is the first day of the festival and I need all the rest I can get."

"Why are you even in that Host Club anyway?"

"Because the manipulative devil is blackmailing me."

"Um… I'm going to ignore the devil part, because I have no clue what you're talking about. What is he blackmailing you with?"

I looked around to make sure that no one else was listening. "Alright. I'll tell you. But you can't tell anyone. Especially not Aunt Sango or Amaya. And most definitely not Grammy."

He nodded. "What is it? What did you do?"

"It's something I did. It's something I am. Kinta… I'm infertile."

His eyes widened as he looked up at me. "What? When did you find this out?"

"Around the time mom died. That's half of the reason I left. I was so sure that someone was going to find out. Haruhi is the only one that knows."

"But Shi-Nee... Grammy won't let you become heir if she finds out."

"That's why no one can find out. I'll become family head, and abolish that rule about only being part of the Head family as long as you can produce an heir. Then, I'll adopt or something. Only a few months left, Kinta. In six months, I turn eighteen and I'll be family head."

**********************

I sighed in annoyance as I shifted uncomfortably in my waiter's suit. "I look like a penguin."

"A _cute_ penguin!" Mitsukuni insisted. "Even in a tux, you look very pretty, Shi-chan."

I beamed at him. "Thank you so much, Mitsukuni! You're quite a cute penguin yourself!"

"It's almost time to open!" He said excitedly. "Where is Takashi?"

"I don't know. He said that he needed to see some girl." I grunted and tugged on my tie. "I can't wait for this to be over." Suddenly, Kinta ran inside the tent. I looked at him curiously. "Kinta? What-,"

"Aunt Sango is here!"

My eyes widened and I quickly shed my waiter's costume. "I need to find a dress. Someone get me a dress!" Mitsukuni skipped over to me with a black maid dress.

"Here! This was in that box over there."

I threw it on even though I absolutely despised maid outfits. "This sucks so bad…" I muttered as I struggled with the zipper in the back. "Kinta! Could you get my zipper?" I felt a hand on my back and my zipper started to move up. I took my hair and moved it out of the way so that he could zip it all the way up. "Thanks Kinta. I-," I froze when I saw who it was that had zipped me up and felt a blush rise to my face. "T-Takashi! What are you doing in here?"

"I think I should be asking what you are doing."

I sighed and tried to pull the bottom of the dress farther down my legs. "My aunt is here. If she catches me not wearing a dress, she tell Grammy that I'm cross-dressing. This was the only thing Mitsukuni could find."

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "It looks pretty on you."

I smiled but shook my head. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but I look horrible in dresses. I have too much muscle on my arms and legs and I so fail at looking feminine."

"I think Shi-chan is pretty too!" Mitsukuni exclaimed.

"Thank you. Well, I guess you guys had better go. I'll hang out here until my aunt finds me."

"Oh no you won't."

I turned around and saw Kyoya standing there. He pushed his glasses up farther on his nose.

I glared at him. "What do you mean? I can't go out there like this? I look like a hooker."

"You're a Host Club member. You have to participate in Host Club events. We'll tell everyone that you're Shinobu's sister since you've already used that excuse once before."

I sighed and took my hair out of the ponytail so that it fell down my back and then reached up to remove my earring. "I don't see why I have to do this, Ootori. The Host Club Café is for girls, and no girl is going to pay to see me walk around in a skimpy maid outfit."

"Yes, but we'll make even more money if we use you to lure in some boys."

"And if I refuse?"

He chuckled darkly. "Must we go through this again? If you refuse, I'll tell everyone your secret. The one where you can't-,"

"Okay! Shut up!" Kinta suddenly exclaimed. "Why can't you just leave my sister alone? You have a little power over her so you use it to control her life!"

"Shinobu," Takashi said from behind me. I turned to look at him. "Is that true? Is Kyoya blackmailing you into being a host?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"Shinobu!" I looked up just in time to see my Aunt Sango burst through the flaps of the tent. She glared when she saw me in my dress. "What are you doing here?"

Sango was a pretty woman with long red hair and dark brown eyes. She wore so much make up that you couldn't see any of her many freckles.

"Aunt Sango! I-,"

"We hired her," Takashi said, stepping in front of me. "She's working for us in our café."

She 'humphed' and glared at us all. "I see. Then I shall come to this café later today and see her progress. You better make enough money to pay for dinner out of your pocket. I'm thinking lobster." Then, she turned on her heel and walked out of the tent.

Mitsukuni puffed out his cheeks and his face turned red in anger. "She's so mean! What an evil woman! MEANIE!"

I laughed and gave Mitsukuni a quick hug. "Don't worry about it Mitsu-chan. All I have to do is survive six more months with her and then she's moving away."

Just then Tamaki burst in, glowing in happiness. "We're about to begin! Everyone head to the café! Shi-chan? Why are you wearing that outfit? Did I miss something?"

***************************

"Umm… Shi-chan?" Tamaki asked quietly. I turned to glare at him.

"What?" I hissed.

He winced. "Could you… maybe… not kick our costumers in the face?"

"Only if they stop hitting on me and trying to look up my skirt."

"Shinobu." I turned and saw Takashi standing behind me. He sat a gentle hand on my shoulder. "There are boys looking up your skirt?"

I nodded and glared at the boy who was nursing a cut on his face. "Assholes." Suddenly, Takashi scooped me up in his arms and started carrying me out of the café. "Eh? Takashi? What are you doing?" I asked, looking up at him through the mess that my hair had become when he picked me up.

He took me back to the tent and sat me down on the cool grass. I watched him curiously as he rummaged through the boxes and pulled out a long crimson dress with straps. "Here. So that boys can't look up your skirt."

"Wow. Thank you Takashi."

"We were saving it for our class's entry in the beauty contest, but I'm sure we can find something else."

I nodded and started pulling the maid outfit over my head. I saw Takashi blush and turn away, but I just laughed and pulled it off. "It's okay, Takashi. You can look."

His face turned even more red, but I saw him peek and turn even redder, but this time from embarrassment. "You could have told me that you were wearing clothes underneath it."

"And miss the look on your face? No."

I laughed and pulled the dress over my head and over my strapless shirt and short shorts. It fell gracefully around my ankles and hid my red converse.

"I like this dress much better," I heard him say quietly.

I grinned at him. "Me too. I feel a little… plain in it though. I'm no great beauty and this dress is gorgeous."

Takashi was quiet, so I looked away from the dress and up at him, just in time to realize he was behind me. He took my hair in his large hands and started messing with it. Then I felt him clip something in it. He handed me a mirror when he was finished and I gasped. My hair was put up in a beautiful bun and there was a large red rose clipped just behind my ear.

"You are very beautiful, Shinobu," He whispered.

I turned back to grin at him. "Thank you for this, Takashi. Even if it is a dress and I hate dresses."

He chuckled and started to leave the tent. I followed him back up the café and, I swear, every person in there gasped when I walked in.

"Shi-chan?" Mitsukuni asked. "You look like a princess!"

I smiled at him and took they tray that he held out to me. "Thank you Mitsu-chan. I'll take that, and continue serving these male pigs."

He grinned. "I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound fun! Good luck, Shi-chan."

I laughed and turned back to Takashi, only to see him looking oddly at Tamaki who was looking at me with a mischievous glint in his eye. He's been hanging out with the twins too much.

"Everyone! I believe that we've found tomorrow's Host Club event, and our class's beauty contest contestant!"

"In you're dreams, Blondie."


	4. The School Festival Part Two

***************************************************************************

Down for the Count

Chapter Three: The School Festival,

Part Two: The Kissing Booth and Beauty Contest

***************************************************************************

"Kisses from Iwagami-chan! Tomorrow only! Ten dollars!"

I sighed and leaned back against my seat as Tamaki proclaimed to the whole school that Iwagami Shinobu's sister would be giving out kisses. "Ten dollars for a kiss," I muttered. "That's insane."

"You're in a rich private school now, Shi-chan," Haruhi said sounding slightly disgusted. "Ten dollars is like loose change to them."

"Them? I'm one of them, Ha-chan."

She blushed. "You know that I don't mean you. I mean the snooty ones. The ones like Tamaki."

"Ahhh!" Tamaki whined. "Haruhi! Why must you be so mean to daddy?"

"You're not my daddy."

Tamaki then went to sulk in his emo corner, cultivating mushrooms. "So mean…" He muttered.

I couldn't help but sigh again. "I don't know how I let you guys talk me into this… _kissing booth_ thing."

"I do," Haruhi said. I looked at her curiously and she pointed at Mitsukuni who was practicing his puppy-dog eyes in a mirror. "That."

"Oh yeah. They cheated."

"We didn't cheat," The twins insisted.

"Cheaters!"

"We didn't cheat!"

"CHEATERS!"

"WE DIDN'T-,"

Haruhi sighed and the twins stopped their screaming. "I swear, Shi-chan, you're as bad as they are."

The twins and I pouted, and then suddenly, Kaoru seemed to realize something. "Eh, Shi-chan. You still haven't told us how you can tell Hikaru and I apart."

Haruhi looked over at me. "You can tell them apart?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know how. I've just always been able to tell them apart. Even when we were kids."

"Wha?" All three of them asked.

I smiled. "I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you. Do you two remember a girl named Aimi?"

They nodded. "Of course. How could we forget her? We met her at school when we were younger and she was the first person to ever tell us apart."

I smirked at them, and paused just to get on their nerves. "Well… I'm Aimi. I changed my name when I left town after my mother's death and became Shinobu."

Their eyes were wide as saucers. "YOU! You're Aimi? You can't be!"

"I am. You met me again after I'd changed my name when I was back in town for my brother's birthday once. When you didn't recognize me, I figured that it was best just to let Aimi disappear. "

They were still shocked when I got to my feet and walked over to the table with food on it. You'd think that rich people would be more health conscience. I chuckled to myself as I picked up a piece of fried chicken and ate it as I walked towards the table. The café was closed now, so we were all relaxing. I'd finally been able to change out of the dress, but I'd borrowed a skirt just in case my aunt paid me a surprise visit.

Mitsukuni and Takashi walked over to me and sat down in the chairs across from me. Mitsukuni grinned, but I knew that it was actually a smirk in disguise. "Sorry I tricked you, Shi-chan. Kyo-kun promised me cake if I did."

I nodded and couldn't help but smile at the little monster. "It's alright, Mitsu-chan. I could never stay mad at you."

He grinned victoriously. He quickly stood and skipped away happily. "I'm going to get my cake! By Shi-chan! Bye Takashi!"

I chuckled quietly and shook my head and I looked over at Takashi. "He usually gets what he wants that way doesn't he?"

He nodded and gave me that almost kind of half smile that was starting to annoy me. "Yes… Yes, he does."

"You gotta stop doing that," I told him.

He looked at me curiously. "Stop what?"

"That almost kind of half smile. Can't you ever give a real smile?"

He looked away thoughtfully. "I've never tried. No one has ever asked me to really smile before. Especially not since I became a wild type for the Host Club."

I grinned at him. "Could you smile for me? I'd love to see it."

Takashi looked at me for a second before the corners of his lips moved slowly up his cheeks. Takashi had dimples! It was a small smile, but it made my face feel hot and my stomach churn.

"How's that?" He asked, pulling me out of my thoughts and I quickly tried to smother the heat in my cheeks.

I reached over set my hands on his face and tilted my head to change to perspective. Then, I smiled and tilted it the other way. "It's nice. Cute." I felt his cheeks heat up under my palms. "You can tell that you don't do it often, but… I like it. You should do it more."

He raised an eyebrow at me, but the smile was still on his face because my hands were keeping him from letting it fall. "Really?" He asked, sounding weird as he tried to talk around his forced smiling lips.

"Really," I said, finally letting his cheeks fall.

He looked thoughtful before nodding goodbye, standing, and walking away, nearly running into a pole because he was so deep in thought.

I heard giggling from behind me, and when I turned around I saw Mitsukuni standing there. "This is going to be so much fun!" He exclaimed.

"What is?"

"When Takashi and Shi-chan start dating!"

My blush from earlier was a candle flame compared to this wild fire that danced around my cheeks now. "What!?" He nodded. "What makes you think me and Takashi are gonna date."

"Because you two like each other."

"We don't like each other like that, Mitsu-chan. We're just friends."

"But… But…" His eyes started watering. "You both blush whenever someone mentions the others name, and Takashi got really jealous when he heard that other guys were looking at you, and… and…."

I looked at him curiously. Takashi was jealous? "That… That's what really good friends do."

He seemed to reach and epiphany. "So Tamaki and Haruhi must be really, really good friends!"

I laughed and nodded. "Very, very good friends. Come on Mitsu-chan. We need to set up the booth for tomorrow."

************************************

Tomorrow came too soon. It seemed like only seconds had passed from the time I left with Mitsukuni to the time when I was forced to dress in a short black dress and paid to kiss every desperate pig that came up.

It was time for my break (thank god) when I got a very special costumer.

"Excuse me? Is the kissing booth still open?" A voice that I didn't recognize asked as he walked up.

"I'm on break," I sneered, stuffing a cookie into my mouth angrily.

The footsteps got closer. "Iwagami-chan?"

I growled and spun to face him. "I said I was on…." I paused and just stared at him for a second. "Ichi?"

"Hey Shinobu," He said as he engulfed me in a hug. "It's so good to see you! How long has it been? Three? Four years since you called off the engagement?"

"Shi-chan!" Mitsukuni exclaimed as he squeezed his way between me and Ichiro. He hugged me possessively. "Who is this boy?"

"Oh, sorry. Guys this is Ichiro. My… ex-fiancé."

Ichiro pouted childishly. "Why'd you have to introduce me like that?"

"Because that's what you are."

"But that makes me sound like some jerk who left you. Can't you say friend? Or even acquaintance or something?"

"No."

"Hey Ichiro!" Haruhi exclaimed, out of breath, as she walked in. "When you said that you were here to see Shi-chan I didn't expect you to run off after I told you where she was!"

"Why did you two break up?" Mitsukuni asked, ignoring Haruhi.

"A couple of reasons," Ichiro said, his face turning bright red.

"Like what?" The twins asked out of nowhere. I looked up at them and jumped when I saw Takashi standing beside them. When did he get here? That boy is just way too quiet.

"Well, for one thing, there was that problem where both of my parents died within a few weeks of each other. And…" I looked at Ichiro, not sure if he wanted me to tell.

He shrugged and grinned, but I could see the pick on his cheeks. "I'm… I'm gay. Well, bi actually, but I prefer guys."

Kyoya stepped between us and held a hand out towards him. "You came here for a kiss from Shinobu, right? That'll be ten dollars."

Ichiro grinned. "If I give you thirty dollars can I get a kiss from you instead? You're cute."

"No," Kyoya answered, surprisingly evenly.

Ichiro shrugged and pulled out a ten-dollar bill. "Oh well."

I sighed. "So much for my break." I leaned up and he met me in the middle for a short, sweet kiss. He smiled shyly at me, and then winked at Kyoya as he left. That's just how Ichiro was. He had a split personality. With guys he thought were cute, he'd be flirty and suggestive. But with everyone else he was shy and quiet. It wasn't really something that he could control, so I found it amusing. If he did it on purpose I would have found it annoying.

"Bye Ichi!" Haruhi called as he left.

"Bye Haruhi! Bye Shi-chan!"

Kaoru and Hikaru were smirking as they walked over to me. "He's cool. We like him. Is he going to be around very often?"

"He's coming to this school," Haruhi said as she sat beside me.

"He is?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. He told me."

I suddenly noticed that two boys were missing. "Where did Takashi and Mitsukuni go?" I asked.

Kyoya didn't look up from his notebook. "They left a second ago." I got to my feet to follow, but Kyoya suddenly stood up in front of me. "We're about to reopen. They'll be back."

Mitsukuni did come back a few minutes later, but Takashi never did. I assumed that he wasn't too far away, because he never let Mitsukuni out of his sight, but he never came to where I could see him.

I narrowly avoided a visit from my aunt by hiding in a closet, and Kinta came in to buy a kiss from his big sis. I gave him one on the cheek so we gave him five dollars back.

I didn't see Takashi again until about half and hour before the beauty contest. I was closing up the booth (alone, go figure) and he walked up, looking at his feet.

"Shinobu?" He asked quietly.

I looked up at him and smiled before looking back at what I was doing. "Hey Takashi. Where have you been all day?"

He was quiet, so I looked back up at him and was surprised to see him holding out a ten-dollar bill. I looked from the bill, to him, then to the bill.

"One kiss, please." He said, smiling slightly in the way that I'd asked him to the other day.

I grinned and took the ten gently from his hand before closing my eyes and puckering my lips. I felt his hands on my shoulders as he dipped his head to kiss me. I was only a few inches shorter than him (about Tamaki's height) so he didn't have to go too far down. His rough lips pressed gently against mine as if he was nervous, so I pressed against him harder. He should at least get his money's worth, right? I was a bit shocked when his hands slipping from my shoulders and circled around my waist to pull my closer. I relaxed and sat my hands gently on his lean chest.

He pulled away after a while and sighed before letting his arms fall to his side.

"Takashi-," I started.

"Sorry," He interrupted. "I sort of went too far, I guess. That was probably worth more than ten dollars."

I smiled at him and decided to take that as a compliment. "It's alright. Don't worry about it. You're my friend, so I'll give you discount."

Suddenly, arms wrapped around my neck and lips were pressed hard against mine, but they weren't Takashi's. "Yay!" Mitsukuni exclaimed as he dropped to the ground. "Discount!" He handed me five dollars and ran off. "Come on, Takashi! It's time for the contest! Shi-chan, you catch up, kay?"

Takashi gave me that annoying almost kind of half smile before running off to catch up with Mitsukuni.

I sighed when I realized Mitsukuni was right. It was time for me to wear a stupid dress in front of a bunch of stupid people for a stupid contest against other stupid girls in their stupid dresses.

***************************

"I am not going out there without something that at least covers my thighs," I whispered angrily as one of our teachers as she pushed my forward towards the stage.

She sighed and gave up on trying to force me out. "Here," She said, holding up a long swatch of pink fabric. She pulled out a needle and thread and sewed the pink onto my black dress (if you could call it that). "This might fall off if you move around too much, so be careful."

I nodded, happy to not feel a draft on my legs.

"And this is class 3-B's Iwagami Shinami, twin sister to Iwagami Shinobu, a Host in our schools Host Club."

There was cheering (mainly from men) as I walked out. I tried to smile as much as I could, and I could feel my cheeks getting sore. I stood next to the others and saw that the Host Club (minus Tamaki) was sitting up front and clapping for me. I gave them a real smile, then resumed my fake one for everyone else.

That was when the girl behind me stepped on the bottom of my dress.

There was a horrible rip and I felt air waft past my now exposed legs. I froze and looked down. I could see my… everything. The dress barely covered my hips. There was just enough fabric there to cover my underwear.

I looked up over the crowd and heard wolf-whistles. My eyes, for some odd reason, traveled to Takashi. His face was bright red and he wouldn't look me in the eye. Kaoru and Hikaru were cracking up. Mitsukuni was tilting his head confused as he looked over all the boys who were whistling at me. Haruhi had her face in her hands with an exasperated look on her features.

My face heated up and after the vain attempts to pull the dress down without showing any more cleavage, I ran off stage.

"Shinobu!" I heard a voice call.

I kept running down the hall, trying not to kill myself in those heels. I threw open the door of an empty class room and sat on a desk. I sighed. "I knew this was a bad idea. I'm going to kill those twins for making this dress."

"Shi-chan?"

I looked up and saw Ichiro in the doorway. "Ichi?"

"Are you okay?" He asked, coming over to stand by me.

I nodded leaned back on my hands. "Yeah. I'm plotting way to kill Hikaru and Kaoru without leaving any evidence."

He chuckled and got a weird look on his face that I recognized as being his 'Flirty Side' face. "Can I have a little fun with them before you kill them?"

I waved my hand in disinterest. "Have at 'em."

"We should go back. They're all really worried, you know."

I nodded and stood up, shifting in a way that probably looked like I was trying to dance because I had a major wedgie. Ichiro laughed and walked with me back down to the gym. He continued on and I slipped into the now-empty dressing room and changed into a less revealing dress, praying that my aunt would go on vacation again soon so that I wouldn't have to wear this horrid thing.

When I walked out of the room, I saw that the hall was empty but for two people. Takashi and Aunt Sango.

I ducked back into the room and tried to strain my ears to hear.

"I want you to spy on my niece for me. Can you do that?"

Takashi was quiet for a moment. "No."

"Why not!" My aunt asked, outraged. "I'm willing to pay you a great deal of money to just tell me what Shinobu's doing or planning to do."

"I won't."

I felt something swell in my chest. I didn't know whether it was because Aunt Sango was trying to recruit my friends as spies or happiness because Takashi felt enough friendship towards me to say no. Maybe it was even attraction because just then, I'd realized the Takashi was shirtless and he had the hottest, most muscular back I'd even seen.

My aunt was fuming as she stalked away. "You'll regret this!" Those were her last words as she left the school.

I stepped out of the room and shut the door behind me. Takashi seemed startled and turned to look at me. "Shinobu? Did you hear that?"

I smiled at him. "Ah," I said, imitating him.

He nodded but I could tell that he was having a hard time not smiling. He looked at me curiously. "Where is your sash and trophy?"

"Huh?"

"Ichiro didn't tell you that you won?"

I looked at him with wide eyes. "I won!"

Suddenly, I was thrown forward by a sudden glomp and landed on the floor with a small senior on my back. "Yay Shi-chan! I knew that Shi-chan was the prettiest girl in school!"

I laughed and sat up, accepting the sash and trophy from the small boy's hands and standing up. "Thank you, Mitsu-chan."

Hikaru and Kaoru threw their arms around me and grinned. "It was the dress," They said in unison.

I glared at them. "Funny. That's the same thing that it's going to say when I write your obituary after I kill you." They just continued grinning and didn't pay any mind to my threats.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up farther on his nose, trying to ignore the 'sexy-look' that Ichiro was throwing at him. Haruhi sighed and looked at us all with a dead-pan expression. "Damn crazy rich people…" She muttered.

"Let's go out to eat!" Mitsukuni said excitedly. "We'll celebrate the Host Club's victory!"

Everyone was quick to agree and we all left the school smiling and laughing (except for Takashi who was smiling and laughing on the inside).


	5. Two Truths Out

***************************************************************************

Down for the Count

Chapter Four: Two Truths Out

***************************************************************************

_I was sitting by the pond in our backyard, running my hand through the silky water, avoiding my eleventh birthday party. The koi fish nipped at my fingertips and I giggled, brushing my hand on their scales._

"_Aimi?" A voice called. I looked up and grinned._

"_Mommy! You're here!" I jumped and threw myself in her arms._

_She laughed and hugged my tight. "You didn't think I'd let a silly business trip make me miss my daughter's birthday did you? Now, what are you doing out here all alone."_

_I pouted. "Aunt Sango wouldn't let me invite any of my friends. She said that I shouldn't be aloud to have fun when my father's dead."_

_My mother shook her head. "Oh Aimi…" She held me tighter and I felt tears hit my shoulder. "Your father would want you to have fun. I'm going to make sure that I tell Aunt Sango about that, okay? You need to have fun so that you can help me raise your little brother and baby sister. You can't do that if you're sad all the time, can you?"_

_I shook my head and grinned at her, trying to cheer her up. "Come look at the fish, Mommy! They've gotten so big!" I took her hand and led her over to the pond. I leaned over to get a better look and let her hand drop. "See, Mommy? See how cool they are?" I leaned farther, and the next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes underwater with the sound of a splash echoing through my ears._

"_Aimi!" There was another splash as I sunk farther and farther down, the koi nipping at me in urgency. They scattered when a body came near me. As it wrapped it's arms around me I tried to kick it, over and over, but it let out an underwater scream of pain I opened my eyes again, not remembering when I closed them. _

_It was my mother. Her eyes were fearful and se held me tighter, trying to swim to the surface. I started to swim with her and her arms slipped from around me as I got closer to the surface, but I kept swimming because I knew she was there beside me._

_I broke the surface and pulled myself onto the shore, my breath forcing itself in and out. I looked around, unable to find my mother anywhere._

"_Mommy?" I looked back at the pond and screamed in horror. "MOMMY!"_

_Her pale white face. The water overflowing from her mouth. The dead eyes that stared right through me._

_The face that would haunt me forever after._

*************************************

I screamed as I sat up quickly in bed. Kinta suddenly came running in wearing a red apron and carrying a spatula.

"What? What's the matter?" He looked at me and seemed to understand what happened. "You had the nightmare again?"

I just nodded and covered my head with the blanket. "I don't think I'm going to school today, Kinta. I feel sick."

He rubbed my back comfortingly. "Okay. I'll call your school. You want me to stay home too?"

I laughed when I realized how much of a worried mother he sounded like. I shook my head. "No. It's okay Kinta. You're already having enough trouble in school and I don't want you falling behind. Besides, I'd rather be alone today anyway."

He nodded and left the room without another word. I could hear him talking to Mr. Suoh on the phone. "My sister isn't feeling to well, and since she's the official guardian since my aunt's never around and my grandmother is senile, she asked me to call in for her. Okay… Thank you Mr. Suoh." He peeked back in the room after he hung up. "He says to feel better and he told me that Tamaki told him to me to tell you that he and the others would be visiting."

I groaned and buried my face in the pillow. Might as well sleep while I could.

*************************************

"Oh my-second-dearest-daughter-after-Haruhi!" A voice sang as many feet tromped up my stairs. I groaned again, sad that the quiet had been snatched from my grasp.

"WHAT!" I snapped when the bedroom door was thrown open.

They all cowered in fear. All except for Haruhi who was too tired to care, and Mori who never showed fear in the first place. Haruhi yawned loudly as she walked over and laid down in the my bed. "Well, I'm getting some sleep."

I sighed and sat up, tugging on the hem of my silk PJ shirt, not caring that I was walking around in my boxing glove PJs in front of a bunch of boys. "You boys hungry? It's Tatsi's day off so you'll have to make it yourself."

"Why don't you cook us something, Shi-chan?" The twins asked.

I smirked. "You want those pretty little eyebrows singed off? Didn't think so. If you're smart, you won't let me near a cooking related appliance. Actually, since you're not smart, I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

We all (except Haruhi of course who was asleep) walked downstairs. Since I was up, whether or not it was of my doing, I decided to go along with one of my traditions. I got them busy with eating and walked out to the backyard.

Out back there was a large pond full of koi. It took up about 1/8th of the backyard, which was actually really big because my backyard was the size of Ouran Middle School.

I sighed as I fell to my butt on the ground in front of the pond and dipped my feet in the water. The koi instantly swan up and nibbled at my toes. I smiled. It was like they knew how I was feeling. My favorite koi, a white and orange one named Kipper, hovered in the water right next to my foot and looked up at me with big black eyes.

"Shinobu," A voice whispered.

My eyes widened and I bent down to her. "Kipper? Was that you?" She just blinked at me.

"Shinobu," Takashi said again as he sat down beside me. "It's me."

"Oh! Well, don't I feel stupid?"

He smiled slightly and sat with his feet crossed under him. "It's alright. You don't have to feel stupid. What are you doing out here?"

I sighed and lay back on the ground with my arms under my head so that I could looked at the clouds. "Just… pitying myself and my inability to help the people I care the most about. How was school today?"

"It was fine, and don't try to change to subject. What did you mean by that?" He fell back to lay beside me and turned onto his side to look at me. I let my head fall over in his direction and was instantly caught in his eyes. Then, I felt it all spill out of me, and I don't just mean the stories. Tears spilled too. The first tears I'd cried since the day my mom died.

"I couldn't stop him," I whispered, looking away and closing my eyes. "My father was going to visit my grandmother's villa for a week. He was going to miss my school play and I was playing the part of the villain. I couldn't stop him from going, and just before the play, I found out he had been killed. I ran away from the school and never got to be in the play. Eighteen days later, my mother drowned trying to save my life after I fell in the pond. My sister hates me because I left her here alone. Even Kinta hasn't opened up to me like he used to."

I don't remember when I sat up, and I don't know when Takashi took me in his arms to let me cry on his shoulder. I quickly jumped away and wiped my eyes. I took a deep breath and refused to look at him.

"Shinobu?" He whispered.

"Sorry," I said quickly. "It's umm… their anniversary. I have a nightmare of my mother's death four times a year. My parent's anniversary, their birthdays, and my birthday."

"Why on your birthday?"

"That's the day my mother died. It was during my birthday party."

We were both quiet for a minute, then suddenly, Takashi's arm wrapped around my shoulder and he pulled me into his chest. His large hand stroked up and down my arm, giving my goose bumps.

"Hmmm," He hummed quietly as he buried his face in my hair.

"Takashi? What are you doing?"

"Trying to make you feel better. This is what I do for Mitsukuni and my brother when they are upset. I've never had to deal with cheering a girl up, so I don't know if it will work for you."

I smiled and moved closer against him. "It's working."

The door opened and there were quick footsteps. Small arms wrapped around Takashi's neck and Mitsukuni's head popped over his shoulder. "Shi-chan! Are you okay? You look like you've been crying."

I grinned at him. "I'm fine, Mitsu-chan. I just sneezed and my eyes got all watery."

"Oh! Okay. You want to go ride horses with me?"

I nodded and stood, sad to be away from Takashi's arm embrace. "Sure. Have you ever ridden a horse before?"

Mitsukuni shook his head. "No, but I really want to!"

I chuckled and pat his head before heading over to the pasture. "Come on then. We've got a pretty little dwarf horse that I think you'll fit on perfectly."

I could practically see the floating pink flowers around Mitsukuni as he rode the horse. I laughed quietly to myself as I idled near the pole that Dipstick (Mitsukuni's horse) was tied to and circling around. Tamaki was riding away from the twins, with a frightened look on his face. His chestnut mare seemed to be amused though, because she kept laughing and nearly tripping over her own hooves (but she usually did that anyway). The twins were both riding black roans and were chasing after the tono himself.

Kyoya was standing near the stables writing something in his notebook while two fillies nibbled on his hair. He seemed to be ignoring them, but I could see his face starting to turn red in annoyance. Takashi was standing off to the side and just watching us all.

My own horse (Sun Dancer) walked up and started chewing on my hair, a sign that she was getting antsy. I smiled and mounted her, before letting her trot over to where Takashi was standing.

"Do you want to ride a horse, Takashi?" I asked him, looking down at him for once.

He shook his head. "No thank you."

I raised an eyebrow and leaned down to get a closer look at him. Was he blushing? "Could it be, Takashi, that you don't know how to ride a horse?"

His blush got darker and he looked away. I laughed quietly and held my hand down to him. He looked up at me curiously. "What-?"

"Climb on, silly. I'm going to teach you to ride." He hesitated, but in the end he jumped up behind me. I looked over my shoulder to grin at him. "Hold on tight."

"To what?"

"Me, silly! Don't be shy."

I felt him stiffen up behind me and slowly wound his arms around my waist. I could tell he was trying to stay as far away from me as possible. I rolled my eyes and smirked. With a soft nudge from me, Sun Dancer was off. I was instantly meet with my desired results. Takashi stopped being a prude and tightened his arms around me. I could feel his firm, muscled chest pressed hard against my back.

Why was my heart beating so fast?

I took a wood trail, back into the trees that surrounded my yard. It was a trail that I knew very well. I could do it with my eyes closed if I wanted to, but I didn't dare. Not with Takashi's breath falling down the back of my shirt. I'd most likely lose concentration and run us into a tree.

After a while of running through the trees, I slowed Sun Dancer a bit and just let her trot through the peaceful forest. I turned and grinned back at Takashi and he smiled back slightly.

"That wasn't funny," He said quietly, going back to stoic, even though it sort of lost its effect when there was a stick in his hair.

I laughed and reached up the pull the stick out of its black confinements and tossed it on the ground. "I thought it was funny."

"Of course you did," He muttered.

This was a side of Takashi I'd seen before, and I loved it. He was acting like a whiney little kid! Did the ride actually scare him that much, or was he just finally warming up to me? "Well," I started. "The next time someone says 'Hold on' you'll be sure to do that won't you?"

He just nodded and we continued out trek through the forest in quiet. After a while, I noticed that his arms were getting steadily tighter around my waist, and just as I noticed this, Takashi's head sat itself on my shoulder. I looked back at him, surprised, but his eyes were closed.

"Can we take a break?" He asked.

I nodded. I had forgotten how tiring horse riding could be for beginners. Slowly I stopped Sun Dancer near a small spring and let him climb off. He fell to the ground with a sigh and I climbed off after him. After tying Sun Dancer's bridle to a tree limb, I sat next to the spring and took some water in my hands to drink. When I was finished drinking I sat back on my hands with a sigh and closed my eyes, just relaxing in the serenity of the forest. I could hear Takashi moving around next to me.

I felt a large hand sit on my shoulder and before I could even open my eyes, it turned me towards its owner. When I was finally able to open my eyes I saw Takashi's face up close to mine. "Taka-?"

But his lips had already slammed into mine. I couldn't move, let alone pull away. His arms moved down my arms and circled my waist tight, much more willingly this time. He seemed to suddenly realize what was happening, because he shot away from me, leaving both of us breathing deeply.

We were quiet for a moment, before Takashi opened his mouth to speak. "Sor-."

But I was kissing him already. He seemed surprised but went with it and pulled me close, as close as I could go. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pushed myself against him, making sure that any space between us was gone.

Then… we fell into the spring.

"So, tell me again, how you and Mori-senpai ended up in the spring."

"I told you, Haruhi. We stopped for a drink of water, and Sun Dancer thought it would be funny to push us in." Sun Dancer whinnied in protest as I brushed her, but I ignored her.

Haruhi rolled her big brown eyes. "Like I believe that. Sun Dancer is way to sweet to do that. What really happened?"

I hesitated, but Sun Dancer nudged me with her head and neighed in my face. I glared at her as I stroked her nose. "Lot of help you are." With a sigh, I turned to my best friend. "Well... we were… sort of… maybe a little… making out."

Her eyes widened. "You and Mori-senpai? The firecracker and the quiet one. Who would've guessed?"

"Well, I doubt anything is gonna come from it. He didn't say a word on the way back and just as much of a prude as before. He insisted on walking back on his own, but I wouldn't let him and we both ended up walking back on different sides of the horse. I don't-."

The door was thrown open and a very hyper Mitsukuni ran in and threw himself at me. He wrapped his arms around me and grinned. "Hey Shi-chan! Takashi and I are leaving now."

I smiled and pat his head. "Okay. If you guys ever want to come over, just call first. And don't bring Tamaki."

Mitsukuni dropped to the ground and ran over to his black haired protector. He looked at him oddly. "Say goodbye, Takashi."

The taller boy looked over at me for a second, and then looked away. "Ah. Goodbye, Iwagami-chan."

I glared then quickly turned away as well. "Goodbye Morinozuka-senpai."

Mitsukuni looked confused. "Is there something the matter with you two?"

I smiled at him and went back to brushing my horse. "Of course not, Mitsu-chan. I'll see you two at school tomorrow."

Mitsukuni followed Mori-senpai out the door.

Haruhi raised an eyebrow at me. "What's going on?"

I just shook my head. "I understand now. I never should have told him."

"Told him what? Shinobu… you didn't tell him about… you-know-what, did you?"

"No, I didn't tell him I was infertile, but I told him just about everything else. About my mom and my dad and then he must have just kissed me out of pity. Then I kissed him back, and it must have freaked him out."

"Damn crazy rich people," I heard her mutter.

I looked back at her. "What now?"

"He likes you. Even I can tell and I was completely oblivious to Tamaki's feelings for me until he blurted them out at school today."

My eyes widened and I paused in my brushing to stare at her. "He what?!"

"Don't try to change the subject! You're no good at it."

I shook my head and moved over to sit next to her on the hay pile. "There is no way senpai likes me like that. Now, he probably doesn't even like me as a friend."

"Damn stupid rich people," she muttered again.

This time, I chose to ignore her.

That night when Kinta came home I was already in bed. He heard his frantic footsteps on the stairs and turned to look at him when he threw the door open in panic.

"Shi-nee! Have you seen the papers?"

I yawned and sat up. I stretched and leaned back against my headboard as he made his way over to my bed. "No, but can this wait until morning? I've had a very… stressful day."

"I'm sorry, Shi-nee, but it can't wait. Look at the front page."

I took the paper from him sleepily and waited a moment for my eyes to adjust before reading the headlines out loud. " 'The Big Secret? Sources say that the heir to the Iwagami Empire, Iwagami Shinobu, has been keeping a secret as big as Tokyo Tower. An anonymous caller has told us that the female fighting champion is infertile! What will-.' Wait… What did it just say…?"


	6. The World Comes to an End

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Down for the Count

Chapter Five: The World Comes to an End

***************************************************************************

"We all know the plan right?" I asked Kinta and the others. They nodded. " 'Operation Keep Aunt Sango And Grandma From Seeing The News Story' is a go."

Kinta clapped his hands. "Break!" We all looked at him funny. "What? It's… football… American stuff."

"Ah," We all said. That explained so much.

The group, consisting of me, Kinta, and five of our most trusted workers, were gong to spend all day making sure that Aunt Sango and Grammy didn't find out about my infertility. "Okay," I said getting their attention. "Let's split up. Kinta, you take Amaya. If she finds out about the article, everyone else in the house does. Henry, Jacque, and Lulu, you guys go around town and take and dispose of every newspaper you see. Nadia and Jennisee, you two take care of Grammy. I'll get Aunt Sango."

Everyone nodded and Kinta did that stupid American break thing again before running off to fulfill their own assignments. Right on time, Aunt Sango walked down the stairs, her hair in a complicated bun, wearing a fancy white pantsuit and powdering her already pale face. She looked surprised to see me standing there, wearing make-up (which I despised), wearing dress pants and dressy shirt and jacket, and with my hair pulled up in a ponytail.

She sneered at me. "And where are you going? The Toddler's Fancy Dress Club?"

I forced a smile. "In case you've forgotten, Aunt, I'm not a toddler anymore. I'm a teenager."

She shrugged. "Same difference. You all smell about the same."

"Um," I started, ignoring her crack on my new perfume. "Actually, I was hoping to go to the office with you today."

"Why?" She asked suspiciously, looking up from her texting.

"Well, I'm going to be in charge soon, so I figured I should get to know the daily life of a C.E.O."

She raised her nose in the air. "Not if I can help it," She muttered, obviously not wanting me to hear. She sighed. "Fine, but make a peep and I'll behead you."

And she'd do it too.

"Hey!" Amaya screamed as she ran down the stairs. Kinta came running after her, a panicked look on his face. "Guess what my friend just told me."

Aunt Sango sighed. "Can this wait, you little brat?"

"No! She told me that Shinobu is-." Kinta suddenly snapped his hand over her mouth and pulled her back against his chest. Kinta wasn't that strong, even for an eleven year old, but he could easily hold down a six year old. Until she bit him, that is. "Shinobu can't have children!"

The whole world seemed to be holding its breath. I looked at the faces of my relatives. Kinta looked apologetic, and his eyes were filling with tears. "I tried to stop her," He whispered.

Amaya looked excited, waiting for my aunt to reward her.

Then, I finally looked at Aunt Sango and felt my toes curl in fear and hatred. She was smirking, more evil than the devil and the Grinch combined.

I knew I was over.

*******************************

I solemnly knocked on Haruhi's door. She answered it as she ate sushi from her bento. "Hey, Shi-chan. What's with the bags?"

I shrugged sheepishly. "Well, I've kind of been… disowned."

Her eyes widened and she choked slightly in her raw fish. "What? How did this happen?"

"Well, someone leaked my 'problem' to the newspaper. We tried to keep my family from seeing it, but one of Amaya's friends called her to ask if it was true and she checked it out online and blurted it out before anyone could stop her. Sango gave me till noon to leave the premises. So, I was kind of wondering… if I… could-."

"Stay here?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, duh. Why do you even have to ask?"

I smiled and the two of us moved my things to her small guest room. "Well, your father and I don't really get along so, I thought-."

"Don't worry. My father always helps people in need. He won't mind."

"Haruhi!" Tamaki exclaimed as he burst through the door. "We just heard the most heinous news about… Oh! Hello Shi-chan."

I smiled and nodded sullenly as the whole gang filed in. Everyone looked either plotting (in Kaoru and Hikaru's cases), pitying (in Ichiro and Tamaki's cases), stoic (in Kyoya and Morinozuka-senpai's cases), and happy (in Mitsukuni's case). Mitsukuni seemed to ignore everyone else's mood and ran over to wear I was sitting on the floor and nearly tackled me.

"Shi-chan! I'm so happy to see you! Kyo-chan said we might never see you again because everyone found out that you're infittle."

I laughed and held him tightly. "Don't worry Mitsu-chan, I'm still here. And it's infertile."

"What does that mean anyway? Everyone keeps saying it, but I don't know what it is."

I smiled as he pulled away from me and I pat his little blonde head. "Well, it means that I can never have children and that no one will ever want to marry me."

He pouted adorably. "But why would nobody want to marry you? You're amazing, Shi-chan! You're the bestest person in the whole world and any boy would be the luckiest boy in the world to marry you."

"Thank you, Mitsu-chan. If everyone in the world thought the same way that you do about things like this, the world would be a happier place. Full of bunnies and cake."

"Is it true?" Kaoru asked. I just nodded and everyone got real quiet for a while.

"So, what are you doing here, Shi-chan?" Tamaki asked suddenly.

I smiled sadly. "I've been kicked out of my home. Amaya is now the heir, and my aunt is five months away from running our company into the ground. This has not started off as a good week."

"Why weren't you at school today?" Mitsukuni asked.

"Well, I've been expelled. After the article came out, the school found out that I was a girl and I got the letter this morning just before I left the house."

It was quiet for a moment. Before Ichiro finally stopped drooling at Kyoya long enough to look up at me. "So, what are you going to do now, Shi-chan?"

"Stay here, I guess. As long as it's okay with Haruhi and her father."

He nodded and sat down beside me. He slid an arm around my shoulders and laid his head against mine. "Just know that I'm always here for you, kay?"

"Me too!" Tamaki exclaimed waving his hands around.

"Ditto," The twins said in monotone, but they were smiling tenderly (a real shocker if you ask me).

Haruhi smiled and nodded. "You can stay as long as you like."

"I will help you if I can," Kyoya said quietly, probably hoping I wouldn't hear, but I did.

"I love Shi-chan! I will do anything for Shi-chan, no matter what!" Mitsukuni finished. He turned back to Morinozuka-senpai. "Right, Takashi? We'll both be here for Shi-chan!"

It was quiet for a moment while everyone waited for him to answer. He just stared at me, and then gave a small nod. "Ah."

Everyone seemed to except that and all started chattering wildly about anything and everything. I tried to listen as best I could, but I could help letting my eyes trail to Morinozuka-senpai, and I saw that every time I did, his eyes were on me as well. He didn't even bother to look away, so every now and then we'd spend a few seconds starting into each other's eyes before he shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

Maybe it was a good thing that nothing came from that kiss.

**************************

It wasn't until after dinner that everyone started to go home. Mitsukuni had fallen asleep, so he and Mori-senpai were going to hang around until he woke up. Even better, Haruhi had to leave to take care of something at her dad's work, leaving me and The Silent One alone in the living room.

To say it was quiet would be the understatement of the millennium. I could hear a pin drop across town.

Therefore, I was extremely shocked (another understatement, of course) when his lips slammed into mine, pushing me back against the couch. I had to force myself to push him away.

"Okay! Okay, what the hell is going on?" I asked, backing away from him. He looked sheepish and a little bit sorry as he scooted away as well.

"Sorry," He whispered. "I couldn't help myself."

"I don't really mean that kiss. I meant the first kiss, the second kiss, this third kiss, as well as the sudden cold shoulder and last-name basis thing you sprung unannounced."

The tips of his ears turned bright pink. "Oh, that."

"Yeah, 'that'."

He shook his head and sighed. "I'm really sorry, Shinobu. I though that suddenly kissing you would have freaked you out, and I started pretending to be uncaring because I wanted to pretend that I could get over it if you could."

I crossed my arms and looked away from him. "Well, I'm not ready to forgive you yet."

He nodded. "I know."

"Takashi?"

We both looked up and saw Mitsukuni standing in the doorway. "Where is everybody?"

"They all left," I told him.

He nodded. "Let me go get my bunny and we can leave too, Takashi." Then he was gone.

I turned back to the black haired heart breaker. "And why kiss me again now? We can never be together."

He looked up at me sharply. "And why can't we?"

"Have you forgotten about my little 'problem'? If I can't have kids, what kind of future could we possibly have together?"

His face softened and looked down at his hands. "I'd forgotten. I'm sorry. I'd be lying if I didn't say I didn't care about that little fact."

I nodded. "I completely understand. Don't worry about it."

"But! But… When you finally do forgive me, I'd like to try being with you anyway. I won't let a silly thing like that stop me from being happy, or keep me from the girl I-."

"Takashi! Let's go now! Bye Shi-chan!"

"Bye Mitsu-chan! Bye Mori-senpai."

He nodded goodbye, then stood and walked towards the door. He paused and turned back. "You know…" He started. "I'd really, really like it… if you would continue calling me Takashi."

I looked at the window, not wanting to let him see the happy smile that was making it's way onto my face. "On one condition. You start calling me Shi-chan."

I couldn't see him, but I could hear the smile in his voice. "Alright. Goodbye… Shi-chan."

********************************

"Shut up, old man!"

"You shut up, you baby-less free loader!"

"You cross-dressing freak!"

"You've been knocked down in boxing so many times that your heads messed up!"

"You can't provide for you daughter!"

Gasp! "You take that back!"

"Make me!"

"Yeah… well… you can't give birth! Hah~!"

"Neither can you, Okama-san!"

"That's because I'm a man, not because I'm infertile. So ha~, ha~!"

"Oh really, cause you don't look like a man to me!"

"Guys! Stop arguing!"

"He/She started it!"

"I don't care, I'm ending it! Can't you two get along for once?"

"No."

"No way."

"Nada."

"Zip."

"Ziltcho."

"That's not a word."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Is."

"Not."

"Is!"

"Not!

"IS!"

"NOT!"

"Stop it! That's it, both of you go to your rooms, neither of you are eating dinner with me at the table."

"But, Haruhi~~~~!"

"Don't 'but' me dad. Rooms. I'll bring dinner to you."

I grumbled the whole way to my guest room. Ranka and I had never really gotten along. Even though he was usually a caring man (man?), when I was around I brought out the worst in him, and vice versa. I was actually fine with going to my room. It gave me time to think about what had happened between Takashi and I today, and it also gave ma chance to figure out what I was going to do next.

I couldn't live with Haruhi forever and there was no way I could graduate any school in town after this latest scandal. I could get a job, I guess, but what? There weren't any places with decent pay that took someone who hadn't even graduated high school.

Suddenly an idea hit me. The perfect way to rebuild my life from scratch. Anxious to get started, I got out nine pieces of paper….


End file.
